Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Over the weekend in Phoenix, I pretty much ate on a normal pattern. I’ve noticed that when I’m away from home, and uncertain as to the reliability of food sources, it is MUCH harder to use an I.F. routine. I can Warrior Diet it pretty well, but trying to fast just makes my hunger scream louder. Unpleasant. I’ll have to look into this—I didn’t bring any Hoodia with me, silly boy. At any rate, I gained about three pounds in four days (!) but a single day of fasting knocked it right back off. So…that couldn’t be fat. It had to be the weight of the digested food in my system. Four pounds of fecal material? Wow, after all this time I learn it’s true. I really AM full of crap…##It’s interesting to feel so optimistic that I’ve found a major piece of the puzzle. No practice works for everyone, but in terms of the physical, I feel I’ve passed a threshold of understanding. That for the X% of people who can make I.F. work for themselves (still compiling data) they’re going to get stunning results. I’m taking another run at Coach Sonnon’s dreaded 100-rep Deathmarch with the Bruiser club bell. My body was just getting beat up before, couldn’t recover enough. Figured it was just age. But it seems to be reacting differently now.

The “Spiritual Autolysis” piece was another chunk of the puzzle. I’ve had a chance to speak to several of my advisors who I trust greatly on the issue of spirit, meditation, mysticism. And they agree that what Jed McKenna speaks of here has the ring of truth. That is: That what we call “Enlightenment” is the door of perception that opens at the moment of death, opened prior to that moment. It is slipping out of the Ego. Note that you have to put your ego shell back on to interact with other human beings, or exist in this world. So Enlightened beings will have some residual ego identity. This would explain the universal existence of rules of behavior and ethics in religions and philosophical schools.

“Enlightenment” doesn’t create good people. It creates clarity of perception of truth. Such beings would be beyond ordinary concepts of “good” and “evil.” You could have an enlightened serial killer. Ordinary thoughts of being “good” because otherwise God Will Get You or Society Will Disapprove would be meaningless. The death of a child would mean no more than the death of a distant star.

Therefore, it would be necessary to program the ego-shell so that when you slip it “back on” to function on this level, you are motivated, if not by fear or guilt, by “Right Action.” This, and the loss of ordinary human motivations (largely fear and tribalism) are what make me very cautious about proceeding. I won’t take one of the accelerated paths (the “Small Boat” in Buddhist lingo) until my son is 18 years old. He needs his daddy. But I can use my current clarity to choose between spiritual and meditative practices that provide steady processing of the mental/emotional/spiritual garbage that arises on a daily basis.

And I.F. is great for this. Every other day, I get to face some of the most basic demons that exist for human beings, demons at the base of war, crime, racism, self-control issues. I get to deal with the fact that an entirely new vista has opened up. That I am no longer at all certain who “I” is (I know how that sounds! Or should I say ! “`I’ knows how that sounds.” Man, language gets twisted when you play in this realm.)

At any rate, the Soulmate process is invaluable for guidance here. And this is NOT to criticize those without a mate, or those who choose other paths. My comments have to do with a particular path up the mountain, not the “Only” or “best” path. The “Soulmate” process assumes that, after survival, the drive to find sexual fulfillment, to build a nest, to mate and raise children is the most powerful drive. That therefore you can use this in a variety of ways (all, of course, open to healthy debate…)

1) you can look at the type of person you are attracted to, and by flipping genders (if you are hetero) tell a lot about your conscious and unconscious self-image. This saved my butt 10 years ago after the breakup of my first marriage. I didn’t know who I was, but I knew what I was attracted to. I made the list out, without compromise, and found the lady closest to the specifications. Asked her what she wanted in a man. What she described was, in essence, what I wanted to be, since what my heart yearned for was to be the kind of man who could attract and hold a woman like THAT. (And she was spectacular.) The work that I did in relation to this led DIRECTLY to my finding, courting, and marrying Tananarive.2) You can use the mating drive to clarify financial goals. You need to build a nest within which children will be safe and secure. Without this, (especially for guys), it is damned hard to attract a mate with much on the ball. Hate to put it this bluntly, but there it is. It’s not that women are money-grubbers or gold-diggers. They have a natural urge to be secure during the months when their energy is directed toward the growth of a baby within their bodies, and the nurturance of that child after birth. Nothing else would make sense. They have a perfect right to expect support and protection. Guys, if you don’t have a “nest,” and you’ve had problems holding and keeping a good woman, I’d take care of this before looking at almost any other potential problem.3) Honesty in communication is probably the single most important factor in keeping a relationship healthy. And this requires honesty in communication with yourself. So you can use your relationship to drive you toward honesty—one of the most basic qualities necessary for life success.4) Self-love is necessary to extend healthy love to others.

I could go on and on. The natural human pair-bond instinct is so strong that the hair on the back of my neck goes up whenever someone says they’re not interested in a bonded relationship. Yes, I’m perfectly aware there are emotional and spiritual paths that do not include this human need. However, that ain’t the way to bet. People lie. This is the simple explanation for Alien Abduction and those who claim their bodies disobey the laws of physics. People lie. We all do. And we lie most about the things that cause us the most emotional pain, unless and until we are ready to look at them.

##Looking at the Yogic Chakras, I see now that I’ve got the base chakra anchored just fine (I.F.) And the core chakra, heart/emotion, can be accessed with Heartbeat Meditation and the Soulmate process. You know what? That’s all you NEED. Everything else can be generated if you are dealing with survival, and love. You’ve rooted the tree. The natural path of human evolution is upward and onward. Root the tree in fertile soil, and it will grow.##But that DOES leave the third part of the triad. Career. Money. I’ll be damned if I know the direct path here. Can there be one, considering that money comes from other people, and therefore beyond direct manipulation? Maybe. After all, the Soulmate process suggests that when you do certain types of inner work, you (and please don’t take this too literally. Again, language has limitations) “radiate” a signal that “attracts” those on your “energetic” level. Ugh. Yeah, yeah, I know how that sounds, and the left, rational side of my brain squeals like a pig. But the right side is pure mystic, and says I’ve touched the truth.

So where is the truth of finance? Money? You can certainly control getting “better” at your chosen field…but can you control your energy, time and intent to maximize your income? To move into creative monetary flow?

There are many, many successful people who say “yes” to this, but the processes they describe often sound a little batty. But I think they’ve touched something true, and just can’t quite describe it.

Tad James’ “Time Line” system is probably as powerful here as anything. By aligning clear goals, values, beliefs, and emotional anchors, you are certainly giving yourself the best chance to perform at your highest levels. This should certainly translate into your best chance at success. But can you go further than this? I suspect so. I also suspect that you can’t quite put your conscious finger on it.

More thought definitely needed. But meanwhile, every day I’m gonna chew up more demons.

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About Me

For the last thirty years or so I’ve been a lecturer, coach, novelist and television writer. For the last forty years I’ve been involved variously in the martial arts, and for all my life I’ve studied and enjoyed yoga. Not that I worked at it as hard and honestly as I should have—I’d be a combination of BKS Iyengar and Bruce Lee if I had.
After publishing about three million words of science fiction (including the New York Times bestsellers The Legacy of Heorot and The Cestus Deception) and having about twenty hours of produced television shows (including The Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, Andromeda, and Stargate, as well as four episodes of the immortal Baywatch), I’ve got opinions on the writing life.
After earning black belts in Judo and Karate, and practicing the Indonesian art of Pentjak Silat Serak for the last fifteen, well, I have some opinions there, as well. And having struggled to live consciously since childhood...well, those opinions are probably strongest of all.